Gundam SeeD: I have a dream
by Spiritblade
Summary: [ONE SHOT] Cagalli remembers the past, ponders the present, and looks forward to the future. A story of a dream made real.


**_A Gundam SeeD fanfic _**

**_I have a dream… _**

**_Written by Spiritblade _**

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam SeeD, its characters, or its franchises. As stated before, do not send those irritating lawyers or the Assassin Orders on my sorry carcass. I am simply not worth the effort. Why some people continue to try is really beyond me. This story was inspired by the Gundam SeeD fanfic: Mutual Passions by Dragon Kamui.

And yes, I know about the issues regarding to a Kira-Cagalli pairing. And while I do like the Kira-Lacus pairing, this one pairing caught my interest. Have no compunctions about the Natarle-Kira, or the Fllay-Kira pairings either. (chuckles)

This story takes into consideration that the events in Gundam SeeD Destiny never happened, and that Uzumi never told Cagalli the secret he had hidden for so very long.

**_Orb C.E. 84, February 14th, Friday 1830 hrs_**

The small mansion that overlooks the sea is an orphanage, warmed by the sun and cradled by the wind and sea. Regardless of the years, regardless of the seasons, the vista that can be viewed from this place was something sacred beyond words. To those who have lived there, it is an eternal reminder of peace that comes after much tribulations, and of the strength needed to get back up and carry on. To those who live there now, it is an abode where the past is never forgotten, the struggles always remembered, and the passion to make something happen, always treasured.

That was the reason why Cagalli chose to make this place her home when she had started rebuilding her country. It was her sanctuary, despite the ruckus the war orphans that Kira and the others took under their wing. The noise they made was a blessed relief to the anguished sobs that she had heard so very often in the war over a decade ago.

From its humble beginnings as a wooden building till the day Cagalli commissioned its construction, she could still hear the echoes of those children who had now grown up and were pursuing their dreams. Dreams, she knew, that were forever tempered by what they have seen, and what they have learnt. Children who would have grown up knowing nothing but hate, soon learnt the price that that hate had what had caused the deaths of those they loved above all else. Those who knew the scars of war, knew better to treasure peace. Those who wanted to live find that to live was perhaps the hardest battle; a hardship that was borne with passion and pride.

And although the orphanage was now silent, the voices of those that had lived there had never left. Every so often, the mailbox would be crammed full of letters from Kira's former charges, and the inbox on his holo-computer crammed full of messages. Messages asking for advice, asking how their 'big brother' was doing, telling him when they would come visit…

In a way, Kira was the father they had lost.

To each child, they saw in him life's most painful lessons. When he spoke, he would never admonish, but the agony conveyed in his gentle voice is enough to lash one's soul with whips of fire. When he listened, it was without an adult's arrogance. And when he held, it was like being embraced by the entire universe. No wonder the children often fought for a place on his lap. When held like that, the nightmares would never dare make an appearance. When enraged, Kira's wrath was akin to beholding the Metatron Himself.

Cagalli threw her bag onto the nearby sofa. The room on the 3rd level was her favourite. Here was where she could enjoy the vista of the sun setting, painting the sea a glorious shade of gold before the moon turned it to molten silver. Here, far from the lights of the city, Cagalli could see the stars where she had once led the remnant of a shattered nation's military to bring about a peace purchased at such a high price.

Here was the place where Kira would read stories to the war orphans, where Lacus would sing them to sleep when she and Athrun visited, where she and Kira would make love, whispering softly of their dreams. Cagalli blushed at that memory, as she paused to look at her reflection. A woman with a lean body, pantherish and strong, with long, golden hair hanging to her waist in a thick ponytail tied high on her head gazed back at her. Tawny, leonine eyes completed the picture of a lioness in human form – sleek and beautiful, proud and defiant.

Kira had been the first one to call her a lioness, and it didn't take long for the name to stick. Within a matter of days, everyone – from world leaders right down to the common people – called her the Lioness of Orb. She could still remember the awed look in Kira's eyes when she had gazed down at him, her curtain of thick hair cascading about them, encasing them in a private world that spoke of a fantasy made reality.

Cagalli walked over to the fireplace. Resting upon the lintel were dozens of pictures, a tribute to memories past and present. It felt so surreal, looking at them, and there have been times she wondered if it had all been a dream. No, it was no dream. Those pictures were as real as reality itself.

Pictures of Archangel's crew rested alongside those of when she had been a resistance fighter fighting ZAFT in Africa. There were pictures of Kira and his friends, of himself with Fllay or Lacus. There was even one with Natarle, the former 1st Officer of the Archangel and Captain of the sunken Dominion, a rare smile on her otherwise stern façade. Holding a place of honour was the picture of Athrun's marriage to Lacus, and the 3 children that the singer had brought into the world.

That picture stood next to the picture of Cagalli's marriage to Kira. She smiled, tracing the outline of her beloved and herself. Any woman could have stood in that treasured place, wearing the soft white bridal gown, held in Kira's embrace. But, to love Kira was to love what he was and still is. The clumsy, kind-hearted young man who so annoyed her was the same crimson angel that had made ZAFT's finest tremble. Even now, long after the war was over, the mere mention of the Strike was enough to make the survivors of the encounter in CE 71 remember the fear they had felt then.

The same crimson angel that lost his first love, failing to protect her even as he failed to protect her father. She watched him break many times, the anguish of killing so many heartbreaking. No one she knew could give the same strangled sobs that Kira made whenever the memories gouged into his soul became too heavy to bear, and there were times Cagalli had to hold him until the agony subsided. She never made light of it. She had no right to.

Her eyes turned to another picture. This one was a picture of her children. 4 of them grinned playfully as they posed before the camera. This picture, above all else, told Cagalli that the life she was living now was no dream. Her children. Kira's children.

Quiet Shinta.

Her fiery twin daughters, Natarle and Fllay.

Warm Shateiel.

Cagalli's hand went to her belly. By Christmas, her family would see a new addition to its ranks. She didn't mind, though. The Lioness of Orb knew that she was impossibly fertile, and that each coupling would almost near-guarantee another child being born. She enjoyed the act of physical intimacy, remembering the first time she and Kira had made love beneath silent stars, sealing an eternal promise. She remembered the lancing pain of first penetration, the feel of her lover's warm seed within her body, the hunger that suddenly erupted into a conflagration, the worshipful gaze in Kira's eyes…

Cagalli face turned red in embarrassment. And to think she often accused her husband of being a pervert when she herself was no better. The image of Lacus smiling teasingly at her made her face red out.

'_**And I was wondering how your family could grow so quickly in 7 years.' **_

Athrun had laughed himself silly. Kira had quickly abandoned ship.

Cagalli made sure Kira paid hell for leaving her in the middle of a fight latter that night.

Smiling, she turned her gaze on a beautifully painted picture that had been a gift from a teacher Cagalli had known in her younger years. It had been delivered on the day of her marriage by Michiru-sensei herself. Her teacher was still beautiful, no different from the day when Cagalli had first met her in home-room, and the undying smile she had on her face was still as enigmatic and as playful as ever.

The picture Michiru-sensei had drawn held two figures, one a man clad in robes, with dark brown hair, his bangs falling over his eyes, smiling, sitting upon a rock overlooking the ocean. Beside him, a beautiful female golden-maned were-cat had one paw on his shoulder, her tawny eyes flaming with joyous passion as the sun and wind graced the two lovers with a silent blessing.

The door behind Cagalli opened, and she was not aware of the newcomer's presence until two strong arms encircled her.

She turned her head to kiss him.

"_Okaerinasai_, Kira," Cagalli said.

The lean, amethyst eyed young man out of the picture smiled, "_Tadaima, _anata."

_**'**As a song is sung in Heaven, so shall it be echoed upon Earth. I understand now, Michiru-sensei. I'm no longer dreaming a dream. I'm living it.'_

_**Fin. **_


End file.
